System and method for driving assistance along a path

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of a system and method for driving assistance along a path are disclosed herein. In accordance with an embodiment, a unique identifier is received from a communication device at an electronic control unit (ECU) of a first vehicle. The unique identifier is received when the first vehicle has reached a first location along a first portion of the path. A communication channel is established between the first vehicle and the communication device based on the received unique identifier. Data associated with a second portion of the path is received by the ECU from the communication device based on the established communication channel. Alert information associated with the second portion of the path is generated by the ECU based on the received data.

FIELD

Various embodiments of the disclosure relate to driving assistance. Morespecifically, various embodiments of the disclosure relate to drivingassistance for a vehicle along a path.

BACKGROUND

Advanced applications, such as intelligent transportation system (ITS),have revolutionized numerous services that relate to different modes oftransport and traffic management. As a result, various assistancesystems, such as a driving assistance system, are rapidly evolving withrespect to their technology and utility to aid in different drivingscenarios.

In certain scenarios, it may be difficult for a driver of a motorvehicle to view beyond a certain point ahead in a path due to anunfavorable environmental condition or terrain. For example, paths inmountainous terrains may be narrow and may have multiple sharp and/orblind curves. In another example, at blind spots, there may be a poorvisibility and the driver may need to know if there are other vehiclesand/or pedestrians at the blind spots. In such scenarios, the driver maybe required to brake hard when the curve suddenly appears to be sharperand/or steeper than expected. This may cause the motor vehicle tounder-steer or over-steer and may result in an accident. In addition,the presence of road hazards, such as potholes and other obstacles, notvisible beyond a certain point, may also pose a risk to occupant(s) ofthe motor vehicle. Consequently, enhanced driving assistance may berequired that may anticipate such blind curves and other road hazards.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of described systems with some aspects of the presentdisclosure, as set forth in the remainder of the present application andwith reference to the drawings.

SUMMARY

A system and a method for driving assistance along a path substantiallyas shown in, and/or described in connection with, at least one of thefigures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure may beappreciated from a review of the following detailed description of thepresent disclosure, along with the accompanying figures in which likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a network environment fordriving assistance, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates various exemplary componentsor systems of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, and 4H illustrate a first exemplaryscenario for implementation of the disclosed system and method fordriving assistance along a path, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary scenario for implementation of thedisclosed system and method for driving assistance along a path, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates an exemplary method for drivingassistance along a path, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 7 is another flow chart that illustrates another exemplary methodfor driving assistance along a path, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following described implementations may be found in the disclosedsystem and method for driving assistance along a path. Exemplary aspectsof the disclosure may comprise a method that may include receipt of aunique identifier of a first vehicle from a communication device. Thereceipt may occur at an electronic control unit (ECU) of the firstvehicle. Such receipt may occur when the first vehicle has reached afirst location along a first portion of a path. A communication channelmay be established between the first vehicle and the communicationdevice. Such a communication channel may be established based on thereceived unique identifier. Data associated with a second portion of thepath may be received from the communication device based on theestablished communication channel. Alert information associated with thesecond portion of the path may be generated based on the received data.

In accordance with an embodiment, sensor data may be communicated to thecommunication device. The communicated sensor data may comprise at leasta direction of travel, lane information in which the first vehicledrives, a type of the first vehicle, size of the first vehicle, weightof the first vehicle, error information of a device embedded on thefirst vehicle, breakdown information of the first vehicle, geospatialposition, steering angle, yaw rate, speed, and/or rate of change ofspeed of the first vehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, the received data associated with thesecond portion of the path may comprise road surface characteristics ofthe path and/or one or more road hazards along the path. The roadsurface characteristics may comprise an upward slope, a downward slope,a bank angle, a curvature, a boundary, a speed limit, a road texture, apothole, a lane marking, and/or a width of the second portion of thepath. Examples of the one or more road hazards may comprise, but is notlimited to, an obstacle, an animal, a landslide, and/or a second vehiclepresent on the second portion of the path. In accordance with anembodiment, the data associated with the second portion of the path maybe received from one or more other communication devices.

In accordance with an embodiment, the alert information may be generatedwhen a current speed of the second vehicle is higher than apre-specified threshold speed. The alert information may be furthergenerated when the second vehicle crosses a lane marking along thesecond portion of the path. The pre-specified threshold speed may bedetermined based on the one or more road surface characteristics of thepath.

In accordance with an embodiment, the generated alert information may beupdated based on the data received from the communication device. Thegenerated alert information may correspond to a position of the secondvehicle on the second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, display of a combined view of thefirst portion and the generated alert information associated with thesecond portion of the path, may be controlled. The combined view maycomprise one or more features based on the data received from thecommunication device. The one or more features may comprise anindication (in the combined view) of the second vehicle with regard tovehicle type, size, and position along the second portion of the path.The one or more features may further comprise an indication of currentspeed of the second vehicle, current distance to pass the secondvehicle, and/or a required change in speed of the first vehicle to passthe second portion of the path. An indication of the one or more roadhazards on the second portion of the path may also be provided in thecombined view.

In accordance with an embodiment, the display of the generated alertinformation as a graphical view may be controlled. Such a display mayoccur on a heads-up display (HUD), an augmented reality (AR)-HUD whichdisplays HUD information in an augmented reality, a driver informationconsole (DIC), a see-through display, a projection-based display, or asmart-glass display.

Another exemplary aspect of the disclosure may comprise a method fordriving assistance along a path. The method may include determination ofwhether the first vehicle has reached (or passed) the first locationalong the first portion of the path at a communication device. A firstunique identifier may be communicated to the first vehicle to establisha communication channel between the first vehicle and the communicationdevice. Such communication may occur when the first vehicle has reacheda first location along the first portion of the path. Data associatedwith the second portion of the path may be communicated to the firstvehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communicated data associated withthe second portion of the path may comprise the road surfacecharacteristics of the path and/or one or more road hazards along thepath. A second unique identifier may be communicated to the secondvehicle to establish a communication channel between the second vehicleand the communication device. Such communication of the second uniqueidentifier may occur when the second vehicle reaches the second locationalong the second portion of the path. Data associated with the firstportion of the path may be communicated to the second vehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, sensor data from the first vehicleand/or the second vehicle present on the second portion of the path maybe received. The received sensor data may comprise at least a directionof travel, lane information in which the first vehicle drives, a type ofthe first vehicle and/or the second vehicle, size of the first vehicleand/or the second vehicle, weight of the first vehicle and/or the secondvehicle, error information of a device embedded on the first vehicleand/or the second vehicle, breakdown information of the first vehicleand/or the second vehicle, geospatial position, steering angle, yawrate, speed, and/or rate of change of speed of the first vehicle and/orthe second vehicle.

In accordance with an embodiment, a warning signal may be communicatedto one or both of the first vehicle and/or the second vehicle. Suchcommunication may occur when one or both of the first vehicle and/or thesecond vehicle are detected along an opposing traffic lane of the path.The traffic information along the path may be communicated to one orboth of the first vehicle and/or the second vehicle. In accordance withan embodiment, the communication device may be the ECU of the secondvehicle, a mobile unit, or a road-side unit (RSU).

In accordance with an embodiment, the first unique identifier may becommunicated based on a direction of travel of the first vehicle, laneinformation of the first vehicle, or a vehicle type of the firstvehicle. The communicated first unique identifier may expire when thefirst vehicle reaches the second location along the second portion ofthe path. The established communication channel between the firstvehicle and the communication device may then be terminated. Suchtermination may occur based on the expiry of the validity of the firstunique identifier.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a network environment fordriving assistance, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a network environment 100. Thenetwork environment 100 may include a communication device 102, anelectronic control unit (ECU) 104, and one or more vehicles, such as afirst vehicle 106 and a second vehicle 108. The network environment 100may further include a communication network 110 and one or more users,such as a driver 112 of the first vehicle 106.

The first vehicle 106 may include the ECU 104. The ECU 104 may becommunicatively coupled to the communication device 102 and/or thesecond vehicle 108, via the communication network 110. The ECU 104 maybe associated with the driver 112 of the first vehicle 106. The ECU 104further may be communicatively coupled to one or more othercommunication devices (not shown), via the communication network 110, byuse of one or more communication protocols, known in the art.

The ECU 104 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/orcode that may be operable to receive a unique identifier from thecommunication device 102 when the first vehicle 106 has reached (orpassed) a first location along a first portion of a path. The ECU 104may be configured to access vehicle data of the first vehicle 106 orcommunicate one or more control commands to other ECUs, components, orsystems of the first vehicle 106. The vehicle data and the one or morecontrol commands may be communicated via an in-vehicle network, such asa vehicle area network (VAN), and/or in-vehicle data bus, such as acontroller area network (CAN) bus.

The communication device 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to establish acommunication channel with one or more vehicles, such as the firstvehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108. The communication device 102 maybe pre-installed at an accident-prone area, such as at the blind curve.Examples of the communication device 102 may include, but are notlimited to, a mobile unit, an infrastructure unit, such as a road sideunit (RSU), an ECU of the second vehicle 108, and/or other wirelesscommunication devices, such as a radio-frequency (RF) basedcommunication device.

The first vehicle 106 may comprise the ECU 104 that may be configured tocommunicate with the communication device 102, other communicationdevices, and/or a cloud server (not shown). The first vehicle 106 may beconfigured to communicate with other vehicles, such as the secondvehicle 108, in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

The second vehicle 108 may be configured similar to that of the firstvehicle 106. In accordance with an embodiment, the second vehicle 108may comprise an ECU (not shown) configured similar to that of the ECU104. In accordance with an embodiment, the second vehicle 108 maycomprise a conventional ECU that may not have the functionalities and/orconfigurations similar to that of the ECU 104. Examples of first vehicle106 and the second vehicle 108 may include, but are not limited to, amotor vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and/or a vehicle that uses one or moredistinct renewable or non-renewable power sources. A vehicle that usesrenewable or non-renewable power sources may include a fossil fuel-basedvehicle, an electric propulsion-based vehicle, a hydrogen fuel-basedvehicle, a solar-powered vehicle, and/or a vehicle powered by otherforms of alternative energy sources.

The communication network 110 may include a medium through which thefirst vehicle 106 may communicate with the communication device 102,and/or one or more other vehicles, such as the second vehicle 108.Examples of the communication network 110 may include, but are notlimited to, a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) network, amobile ad-hoc network (MANET), a vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET),Intelligent vehicular ad-hoc network (InVANET), Internet based mobilead-hoc networks (IMANET), a wireless sensor network (WSN), a wirelessmesh network (WMN), the Internet, a cellular network, such as along-term evolution (LTE) network, a cloud network, a Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) network, and/or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Variousdevices in the network environment 100 may be operable to connect to thecommunication network 110, in accordance with various wirelesscommunication protocols. Examples of such wireless communicationprotocols may include, but are not limited to, IEEE 802.11, 802.11p,802.15, 802.16, 1609, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(Wi-MAX), Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE), cellularcommunication protocols, Transmission Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP), Long-term Evolution (LTE), File Transfer Protocol(FTP), ZigBee, EDGE, infrared (IR), and/or Bluetooth (BT) communicationprotocols.

In operation, the communication device 102 may be configured todetermine whether the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) a firstlocation along a first portion of a path. In accordance with anembodiment, another communication device (not shown) may be configuredto determine whether the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) thefirst location. A second portion of the path may be beyond afield-of-view of the driver 112 from the first location. The secondportion of the path may not be visible from the first location due toterrain features, such as a blind curve in a mountainous terrain, and/ora dead angle due to an uphill road. In accordance with an embodiment,the second portion of the path may not be visible due to an unfavorableenvironmental and/or lighting condition, such as fog, heavy rainfall,and/or darkness. In accordance with an embodiment, the second portion ofthe path may not be visible from the first location or have reducedvisibility due to mirage conditions, such as an inferior mirage, asuperior mirage, a highway mirage, a heat haze, a ‘Fata Morgana’ indesert areas, and/or night-time mirages.

The communication device 102 may be configured to communicate a firstunique identifier to the first vehicle 106. Such communication may occurwhen the first vehicle 106 reaches (or passes) the first location alongthe first portion of the path. In accordance with an embodiment, thefirst unique identifier may be communicated by another communicationdevice situated at the first location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured toreceive the first unique identifier from the communication device 102and/or one or more other communication devices. Such receipt may occurwhen the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) the first locationalong the first portion of the path. The ECU 104 may be configured toestablish a communication channel between the first vehicle 106 and thecommunication device 102, based on the received unique identifier.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communication device 102 may beconfigured to determine whether the second vehicle 108 has reached (orpassed) a second location along the second portion of the path. Thecommunication device 102 may be configured to communicate a secondunique identifier to the second vehicle 108. The second uniqueidentifier may establish a communication channel between the secondvehicle 108 and the communication device 102. Such a communication ofthe second unique identifier may occur when the second vehicle 108reaches (or passes) the second location along the second portion of thepath.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured tocommunicate sensor data associated with the first vehicle 106 to thecommunication device 102. The communication device 102 may be configuredto receive the sensor data, communicated by the ECU 104. The sensordata, received by the communication device 102, may comprise a directionof travel, lane information in which a vehicle (such as the firstvehicle and/or the second vehicle) drives, vehicle type, vehicle size,weight of a vehicle, error information of a device embedded on thevehicle, breakdown information of the vehicle, geospatial position,steering angle, yaw rate, speed, and/or rate of change of speed of thefirst vehicle and/or the second vehicle. As for the vehicle type, it maybe a model number or a brand name set by a car manufacturer, a categorybased on vehicle size, such as a truck, a compact car, a Sport UtilityVehicle (SUV), characteristics of a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle(EV), an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, an autonomous vehiclethat may be capable to sense its environment and navigate without adriver manual operation, a vehicle operated by a human driver, a vehiclewith advanced driving assisted system, a semi-autonomous vehicle, avehicle capable of vehicle to vehicle communication, a vehicle incapableof vehicle to vehicle communication, a taxi, or a rental car. Ininstances when the second vehicle 108 is detected on the second portionof the path, the communication device 102 may be further configured toreceive sensor data communicated by another ECU associated with thesecond vehicle 108.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communication device 102 may beconfigured to communicate data associated with the second portion of thepath to the first vehicle 106. The ECU 104 may be configured to receivedata associated with the second portion of the path from thecommunication device 102. In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104may be configured to receive the data associated with the second portionof the path from the one or more other communication devices. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the received data associated with thesecond portion of the path may comprise road surface characteristics ofthe path and/or one or more road hazards along the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured togenerate alert information associated with the second portion of thepath, based on the received data. In accordance with an embodiment, theECU 104 may be configured to generate the alert information when acurrent speed of the second vehicle 108 is higher than a pre-specifiedthreshold speed.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured togenerate the alert information when the second vehicle 108 crosses alane marking along the second portion of the path. The ECU 104 may beconfigured to determine the pre-specified threshold speed based on theone or more road surface characteristics of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured toupdate the generated alert information that corresponds to a position ofthe second vehicle 108 on the second portion of the path. Such an updateat the first vehicle 106 may occur based on the data received from thecommunication device 102.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured tocontrol the display of a combined view of the first portion and thegenerated alert information associated with the second portion of thepath. The combined view may comprise one or more features based on thedata received from the communication device 102. The one or morefeatures may comprise an indication of the type, size, and positionalong the second portion of the path of the second vehicle 108. The oneor more features may further comprise an indication of current speed ofthe second vehicle 108 and/or an indication of current distance to passthe second vehicle 108. The combined view may also comprise anindication of a required change in speed of the first vehicle 106 topass the second portion of the path and/or an indication of one or moreroad hazards on the second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the ECU 104 may be configured tocontrol the display of the generated alert information as a graphicalview. Such a display may occur on the display 210, such as a HUD, anAR-HUD, a DIC, the see-through display, a projection-based display, or asmart-glass display.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communication device 102 may beconfigured to communicate data associated with the first portion of thepath to the second vehicle 108. The communication device 102 may beconfigured to communicate a warning signal to one or both of the firstvehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. Such a communication of thewarning signal may occur when one or both of the first vehicle 106and/or the second vehicle 108 are detected approaching each other alonga same traffic lane of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communication device 102 may beconfigured to communicate traffic information along the path to one orboth of the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. Suchtraffic information may be communicated when both of the first vehicle106 and the second vehicle 108 are detected approaching each other alonga same lane of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the communication device 102 may beconfigured to terminate the established communication channel betweenthe first vehicle 106 and the communication device 102. The establishedcommunication channel may be terminated based on expiry of the validityof the first unique identifier. The validity of the communicated firstunique identifier may expire when the first vehicle 106 reaches (orpasses) the second location along the second portion of the path.

Similarly, the communication device 102 may be configured to terminatethe established communication channel between the second vehicle 108 andthe communication device 102, based on expiry of the second uniqueidentifier. The communicated second unique identifier may expire whenthe second vehicle 108 reaches (or passes) the first location along thefirst portion of the path.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates various exemplary componentsor systems of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. FIG. 2 is explained in conjunction with elements fromFIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown the first vehicle 106.The first vehicle 106 may comprise the ECU 104 that may include amicroprocessor 202 and a memory 204. The first vehicle 106 may furthercomprise a wireless communication system 206, an audio interface 208, adisplay 210, a powertrain control system 212, a steering system 214, abraking system 216, a sensing system 218, a body control module 220, andan in-vehicle network 222. The display 210 may render a user interface(UI) 210 a. There is further shown a battery 224 associated with avehicle power system 226. In accordance with an embodiment, the wirelesscommunication system 206, the audio interface 208 and the display 210may also be associated with the ECU 104.

The various components or systems may be communicatively coupled to eachother, via the in-vehicle network 222, such as a vehicle area network(VAN), and/or an in-vehicle data bus. The microprocessor 202 may becommunicatively coupled to the memory 204, the wireless communicationsystem 206, the audio interface 208, the display 210, the powertraincontrol system 212, the sensing system 218, and the body control module220, via the in-vehicle network 222. It should be understood that thefirst vehicle 106 may also include other suitable components or systems,but for brevity, those components or systems which are used to describeand explain the function and operation of the present disclosure areillustrated herein.

The microprocessor 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to execute a set ofinstructions stored in the memory 204. The microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to receive data associated with the second portion of thepath from the communication device 102, via the wireless communicationsystem 206. The microprocessor 202 may be configured to generate alertinformation associated with the second portion of the path based on thereceived data. Examples of the microprocessor 202 may be an X86-basedprocessor, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, anApplication-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, an Explicitly ParallelInstruction Computing (EPIC) processor, a Very Long Instruction Word(VLIW) processor, a microcontroller, a central processing unit (CPU), agraphics processing unit (GPU), a state machine, and/or other processorsor circuits.

The memory 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfacesthat may be configured to store a machine code and/or a set ofinstructions with at least one code section executable by themicroprocessor 202. The memory 204 may be further operable to store oneor more text-to-speech conversion algorithms, one or morespeech-generation algorithms, audio data that corresponds to variousbuzzer sounds, and/or other data. Examples of implementation of thememory 204 may include, but are not limited to, Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Flash memory, a Secure Digital(SD) card, Solid-State Drive (SSD), and/or CPU cache memory.

The wireless communication system 206 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to communicatewith one or more external devices, such as the communication device 102,one or more cloud servers, and/or one or more vehicles, such as thesecond vehicle 108. Such communication with the one or more externaldevices may occur by use of the communication network 110. The wirelesscommunication system 206 may include, but is not limited to, an antenna,a telematics unit, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, one or moreamplifiers, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a nearfield communication (NFC) circuitry, a coder-decoder (CODEC) chipset,and/or a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. The wirelesscommunication system 206 may communicate via wireless communication,such as a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) protocol, by usethe communication network 110 (as described in FIG. 1).

The audio interface 208 may be connected to a speaker, a chime, abuzzer, or other device that may be operable to generate a sound. Theaudio interface 208 may also be connected to a microphone or otherdevice to receive a voice input from an occupant of the first vehicle106, such as the driver 112. The audio interface 208 may also becommunicatively coupled to the microprocessor 202. The audio interface208 may be a part of an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system or headunit of the first vehicle 106.

The display 210 may refer to a display screen to display various typesof information to the occupants of the first vehicle 106, such as thedriver 112. In accordance with an embodiment, the display 210 may be atouch screen display that may receive an input from the driver 112. Thedisplay 210 may be communicatively coupled to the microprocessor 202.Examples of the display 210 may include, but are not limited to aheads-up display (HUD) or a head-up display with an augmented realitysystem (AR-HUD), a driver information console (DIC), a projection-baseddisplay, a display of the head unit, a see-through display, asmart-glass display, and/or an electro-chromic display. The AR-HUD maybe a combiner-based AR-HUD. The display 210 may be a transparent or asemi-transparent display. In accordance with an embodiment, thesee-through display and/or the projection-based display may generate anoptical illusion that the generated alert information is floating in airat a pre-determined distance from a user's eye, such as the driver 112.The first vehicle 106 may include other input/output (I/O) devices thatmay be configured to communicate with the microprocessor 202.

The UI 210 a may be used to render the generated alert information as agraphical view on the display 210, under the control of themicroprocessor 202. The display 210 may render a two-dimensional (2D) ora three-dimensional (3D) graphical view of the generated alertinformation, via the UI 210 a, under the control of the microprocessor202. Examples of the UI 210 a is shown in FIGS. 4C, 4D, 4F, 4G and 4H.

The powertrain control system 212 may refer to an onboard computer ofthe first vehicle 106 that controls operations of an engine and atransmission system of the first vehicle 106. The powertrain controlsystem 212 may control an ignition, fuel injection, emission systems,and/or operations of a transmission system (when provided) and thebraking system 216.

The steering system 214 may be associated with the powertrain controlsystem 212. The steering system 214 may include a steering wheel and/oran electric motor (provided for a power-assisted steering) that may beused by the driver 112 to control movement of the first vehicle 106 inmanual mode or a semi-autonomous mode. In accordance with an embodiment,the movement or steering of the first vehicle 106 may be automaticallycontrolled when the first vehicle 106 is in autonomous mode. Examples ofthe steering system 214 may include, but are not limited to, anautonomous steering control, a power-assisted steering system, avacuum/hydraulic-based steering system, an electro-hydraulicpower-assisted system (EHPAS), or a “steer-by-wire” system, known in theart

The braking system 216 may be used to stop or slow down the firstvehicle 106 by application of frictional forces. The braking system 216may be configured to receive a command from the powertrain controlsystem 212 under the control of the microprocessor 202, when the firstvehicle 106 is in an autonomous mode or a semi-autonomous mode. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the braking system 216 may be configuredto receive a command from the body control module 220 and/or themicroprocessor 202 when the microprocessor 202 preemptively detects asteep curvature, an obstacle, or other road hazards along the secondportion of the path based on the received sensor data from thecommunication device 102.

The sensing system 218 may comprise one or more other vehicle sensorsembedded in the first vehicle 106. The sensing system 218 may furthercomprise one or more image sensors to capture a field-of-view (FOV) infront of the first vehicle 106. The sensing system 218 may beoperatively connected to the microprocessor 202 to provide inputsignals. One or more communication interfaces, such as a CAN interface,may be provided in the sensing system 218 to connect to the in-vehiclenetwork 222. Examples of the sensing system 218 may include, but are notlimited to, a vehicle speed sensor, the odometric sensors, a yaw ratesensor, a speedometer, a global positioning system (GPS), a steeringangle detection sensor, a vehicle travel direction detection sensor, amagnometer, an image sensor, a touch sensor, an infrared sensor, a radiowave-based object detection sensor, and/or a laser-based objectdetection sensor. The one or more vehicle sensors of the sensing system218 may be configured to detect a direction of travel, geospatialposition, steering angle, yaw rate, speed, and/or rate-of-change ofspeed of the first vehicle 106.

The body control module 220 may refer to another electronic control unitthat comprises suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code thatmay be configured to control various electronic components or systems ofthe first vehicle 106, such as a central door locking system. The bodycontrol module 220 may be configured to receive a command from themicroprocessor 202 to unlock a vehicle door of the first vehicle 106.The body control module 220 may relay the command to other suitablevehicle systems or components, such as the central door locking system,for access control of the first vehicle 106.

The in-vehicle network 222 may include a medium through which thevarious control units, components, or systems of the first vehicle 106,such as the ECU 104, the wireless communication system 206, thepowertrain control system 212, the sensing system 218, and/or the bodycontrol module 220, may communicate with each other. In accordance withan embodiment, in-vehicle communication of audio/video data formultimedia components may occur by use of Media Oriented SystemsTransport (MOST) multimedia network protocol of the in-vehicle network222. The in-vehicle network 222 may facilitate access control and/orcommunication between the ECU 104 and other ECUs, such as the wirelesscommunication system 206, of the first vehicle 106. Various devices inthe first vehicle 106 may be configured to connect to the in-vehiclenetwork 222, in accordance with various wired and wireless communicationprotocols. One or more communication interfaces, such as the CANinterface, a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) interface, may be used bythe various components or systems of the first vehicle 106 to connect tothe in-vehicle network 222. Examples of the wired and wirelesscommunication protocols for the in-vehicle network 222 may include, butare not limited to, a vehicle area network (VAN), a CAN bus, DomesticDigital Bus (D2B), Time-Triggered Protocol (TTP), FlexRay, IEEE 1394,Carrier Sense Multiple Access With Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) baseddata communication protocol, Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C), InterEquipment Bus (IEBus), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1708, SAEJ1939, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 11992, ISO11783, Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), MOST25, MOST50, MOST150,Plastic optical fiber (POF), Power-line communication (PLC), SerialPeripheral Interface (SPI) bus, and/or Local Interconnect Network (LIN).

The battery 224 may be a source of electric power for one or moreelectric circuits or loads (not shown). For example, the loads mayinclude, but are not limited to various lights, such as headlights andinterior cabin lights, electrically powered adjustable components, suchas vehicle seats, mirrors, windows or the like, and/or other in-vehicleinfotainment system components, such as radio, speakers, electronicnavigation system, electrically controlled, powered and/or assistedsteering, such as the steering system 214. The battery 224 may be arechargeable battery. The battery 224 may be a source of electricalpower to the ECU 104 (shown by dashed lines), the one or more sensors ofthe sensing system 218, and/or one or hardware units, such as thedisplay 210, of the in-vehicle infotainment system. The battery 224 maybe a source of electrical power to start an engine of the first vehicle106 by selectively providing electric power to an ignition system (notshown) of the first vehicle 106.

The vehicle power system 226 may regulate the charging and the poweroutput of the battery to various electric circuits and the loads of thefirst vehicle 106, as described above. When the first vehicle 106 is ahybrid vehicle or an autonomous vehicle, the vehicle power system 226may provide the required voltage for all of the components and enablethe first vehicle 106 to utilize the battery 224 power for a sufficientamount of time. In accordance with an embodiment, the vehicle powersystem 226 may correspond to power electronics, and may include amicrocontroller that may be communicatively coupled (shown by dottedlines) to the in-vehicle network 222. In such an embodiment, themicrocontroller may receive command from the powertrain control system212 under the control of the microprocessor 202.

In operation, the microprocessor 202 may be configured to receive thefirst unique identifier when the first vehicle 106 reaches (or passes)the first location along the first portion of the path. The uniqueidentifier may be received from the communication device 102, via thewireless communication system 206. In accordance with an embodiment, theunique identifier may be received from another communication device,such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, situated at thefirst location.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to establish a communication channel between the firstvehicle 106 and the communication device 102. Such communication mayoccur based on the unique identifier received via the wirelesscommunication system 206.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to communicate sensor data associated with the first vehicle106 to the communication device 102, via the wireless communicationsystem 206. The sensor data may correspond to signals received by themicroprocessor 202 from the sensing system 218, such as the RADAR and/orthe image-capturing unit, installed at the front side of a vehicle bodyof the first vehicle 106. The communicated sensor data may comprise adirection of travel, lane information in which lane the first vehicle106 drives, vehicle type, vehicle size, weight of a vehicle, errorinformation of a device embedded on the first vehicle 106, geospatialposition, steering angle, yaw rate, speed, and/or rate of change ofspeed of the first vehicle 106. In instances when there is a breakdownin the first vehicle 106, the communicated sensor data may also comprisebreakdown information of the first vehicle 106. The vehicle type maycorrespond to certain information, such as a model number or a brandname set by a car manufacturer. The vehicle type may further correspondto a category based on vehicle size, such as a truck, a compact car, aSport Utility Vehicle (SUV). The vehicle type may further correspond tocharacteristics of a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle (EV), aninternal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, an autonomous vehicle that maybe capable to sense its environment and navigate without a driver manualoperation, a vehicle operated by a human driver, a vehicle with advanceddriving assisted system, a semi-autonomous vehicle, a vehicle capable ofvehicle to vehicle communication, a vehicle incapable of vehicle tovehicle communication, a taxi, or a rental car.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to receive data associated with the second portion of thepath from the communication device 102, via the wireless communicationsystem 206. In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 maybe configured to receive data associated with the second portion of thepath from one or more other communication devices. The received dataassociated with the second portion of the path may comprise road surfacecharacteristics of the path and one or more road hazards along the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to generate alert information associated with the secondportion of the path, based on the received data. In accordance with anembodiment, the microprocessor 202 may be configured to generate thealert information when a current speed of the second vehicle 108 ishigher than a pre-specified threshold speed. In accordance with anembodiment, the microprocessor 202 may be configured to generate thealert information when a current speed of the first vehicle 106 ishigher than a pre-specified threshold speed.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 (in firstvehicle 106) may be configured to generate the alert information whenthe second vehicle 108 crosses a lane marking along the second portionof the path. The microprocessor 202 may be configured to determine thepre-specified threshold speed based on the one or more road surfacecharacteristics of the path. In accordance with an embodiment, themicroprocessor 202 may be configured to generate alert information whenboth the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108 are detectedapproaching each other along a same lane of the path. Such alertinformation may be generated when the first vehicle 106 crosses a lanemarking along the first portion of the path. The alert information maybe shown on the display 210 via the UI 210 a together with a buzzersound. The microprocessor 202 may be configured to reproduce the audiodata stored in the memory 204 to generate various buzzer sounds via theaudio interface 208. The pitch of the buzzer sound may be controlledbased on the type of safety alert.

In accordance with an embodiment, microprocessor 202 may be configuredto communicate the generated alert information, such as wrong lanewarning alert, directly to the second vehicle 108, via the communicationnetwork 110, such as the DSRC channel. The microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to update the generated alert information that corresponds toa position of the second vehicle 108 on the second portion of the path.Such an update at the first vehicle 106 may occur based on the datareceived from the communication device 102.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to dynamically update the generated alert information basedone or more road hazards detected on the second portion of the path.Such dynamic update of the generated alert information may be furtherbased on a change of the one or more road surface characteristics alongthe path. Conventionally, map data (2D/3D map data) or geospatialinformation pre-stored in a database, such as GPS information, may notbe up-to-date, and/or may comprise only limited information. Therefore,dependency on such map data may pose a serious risk in an unfavorableenvironmental condition and/or terrain. The generated alert informationand update of such generated alert information may ensure safety ofoccupant(s), such as the driver 112, of the first vehicle 106. Such anupdate at the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108 may occurbased on an update received from the communication device 102.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to control the display of a combined view of the firstportion and the generated alert information associated with the secondportion of the path, via the UI 210 a. The combined view comprises oneor more features based on the received data from the communicationdevice 102. The one or more features may comprise information withregard to the second vehicle 108, such as vehicle type, size, andposition along the second portion of the path. The one or more featuresmay further comprise an indication of current speed of the secondvehicle 108 and/or current distance to pass the second vehicle 108. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the combined view may further comprise anindication of a required change in speed of the first vehicle 106 topass the second portion of the path and/or one or more road hazards onthe second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to control the display of the generated alert information asa graphical view on the display 210, via the UI 210 a (the generatedalert information is shown in FIGS. 4C, 4D, 4F, 4G and 4H). Inaccordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may be configuredto continuously update the position of the second vehicle 108 on thegenerated graphical view of the second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to control display of the combined view, such that the firstportion and the generated second portion of the path may be rendered asa continuous road stretch on the display 210, via the UI 210 a. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the microprocessor 202 may be configuredto control display of the combined view, such that the generated alertinformation that includes the second portion may be overlaid on a partof the first portion. Such an overlaid view may include the one or morefeatures that may be updated based on the data received from thecommunication device 102. In accordance with an embodiment, themicroprocessor 202 may be configured to automatically control one ormore components or systems, such as the powertrain control system 212,the steering system 214, the braking system 216, the sensing system 218,and/or the body control module 220 of the first vehicle 106, when thefirst vehicle 106 is in an autonomous operating mode. Such auto controlmay be based on the generated alert information to pass the secondportion of the path and/or one or more road hazards on the secondportion of the path.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary communicationdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 isexplained in conjunction with elements from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Withreference to FIG. 3, there is shown the communication device 102. Thecommunication device 102 may comprise one or more processors, such as aprocessor 302, a memory 304, a sensing device 306, and a transceiver308.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be connected tothe memory 304, the sensing device 306, and the transceiver 308. Thetransceiver 308 may be operable to communicate with one or morevehicles, such as a first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108. Thetransceiver 308 may be further operable to communicate with the one ormore other communication devices, and/or other cloud servers, via thecommunication network 110.

The processor 302 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to execute a set of instructions storedin the memory 304. The processor 302 may be implemented, based on anumber of processor technologies known in the art. Examples of theprocessor 302 may be an X86-based processor, a RISC processor, an ASICprocessor, a CISC processor, a CPU, a microcontroller, and/or otherprocessors or circuits.

The memory 304 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfacesthat may be operable to store a machine code and/or a set ofinstructions with at least one code section executable by the processor302. In an embodiment, the memory 304 may be configured to pre-storeroad surface characteristics data associated with the first portion andsecond portion of the path. Examples of implementation of the memory 304may include, but are not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), ReadOnly Memory (ROM), Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Flash memory, and/or a SecureDigital (SD) card.

The sensing device 306 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/orinterfaces that may be configured to store a machine code and/orinstructions executable by the processor 302. The sensing device 306 mayinclude one or more sensors for detection of a direction of travel, ageospatial position, speed, and/or rate of change of speed of vehicles,such as the second vehicle 108. The sensing device 306 may furthercomprise one or more image sensors to capture an FOV of the firstportion and/or the second portion of the path. Other examples of the oneor more sensors may include, but are not limited to, a RADAR speed gun,a LIDAR speed gun, a vehicle speed sensor, a speedometer, a globalpositioning system (GPS) sensor, an image sensor, an infrared sensor, aradio wave-based object detection sensor, and/or a laser-based objectdetection sensor.

The transceiver 308 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be configured to communicate with one or morevehicles, such as the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108.The transceiver 308 may be further configured to communicate with theone or more other communication devices, via the communication network110. The transceiver 308 may be operable to communicate data to thefirst vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. The transceiver 308 mayimplement known technologies to support wired or wireless communicationof the communication device 102 with the communication network 110. Thetransceiver 308 may include, but is not limited to, an antenna, a RFtransceiver, one or more amplifiers, one or more oscillators, a digitalsignal processor, and/or a coder-decoder (CODEC) chipset. Thetransceiver 308 may communicate via wireless communication with networksand by use of one or more communication protocols similar to thatdescribed above for the wireless communication system 206.

In operation, the processor 302 may be configured to determine whetherthe first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) a first location along afirst portion of a path. In accordance with an embodiment, instead ofthe processor 302, another communication device, such as the RFIDdevice, situated at the first location may determine whether the firstvehicle 106 has reached (or passed) the first location along the firstportion of a path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured tocommunicate a first unique identifier to the first vehicle 106 when thefirst vehicle 106 reaches (or passes) the first location along the firstportion of the path. In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302may be configured to communicate the first unique identifier based oneor more of a direction of travel, lane information, and/or vehicle typeof the first vehicle 106.

In accordance with an embodiment, another communication device situatedat the first location may determine whether the first vehicle 106 hasreached (or passed) the first location along the first portion of thepath. In instances when the other communication device determineswhether the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) the first locationalong the first portion, the other communication device may assign thefirst unique identifier to the first vehicle 106. In such instances, thefirst vehicle 106, or the communication device situated at the firstlocation, may communicate the first unique identifier to thecommunication device 102.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured toestablish a communication channel with the first vehicle 106, via thetransceiver 308. Such establishment of a communication channel may occurbased on the first unique identifier dynamically assigned to the firstvehicle 106.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured todetermine whether the second vehicle 108 has reached (or passed) thesecond location along the second portion of the path. The processor 302may be configured to communicate a second unique identifier to thesecond vehicle 108 to establish a communication channel between thesecond vehicle 108 and the processor 302.

In accordance with an embodiment, instead of the processor 302, acommunication device (such as another RFID device) situated at thesecond location may assign the second unique identifier to the secondvehicle 108. Such assignment may occur when the second vehicle 108 movespast the second location along the second portion of the path. In suchan instance, the second vehicle 108 or a communication device situatedat the second location may communicate the second unique identifier tothe communication device 102. Such communication of the second uniqueidentifier may occur when the second vehicle 108 has reached (or passed)the second location along the second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured toreceive sensor data from the first vehicle 106, via the transceiver 308.In instances, when the second vehicle 108 is detected on the secondportion of the path, the processor 302 may be configured to receivesensor data of the second vehicle 108. The received sensor data maycomprise a direction of travel, lane information in which lane a vehicle(such as the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108) drives,vehicle type, vehicle size, weight of a vehicle, error information of adevice embedded on the vehicle, breakdown information of the vehicle,geospatial position, steering angle, yaw rate, speed, and/or rate ofchange of speed of the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108.The vehicle type may further correspond to a category based on vehiclesize, such as a truck, a compact car, a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). Thevehicle type may further correspond to characteristics of a vehicle,such as an electric vehicle (EV), an internal combustion engine (ICE)vehicle, an autonomous vehicle that may be capable to sense itsenvironment and navigate without a driver manual operation, a vehicleoperated by a human driver, a vehicle with advanced driving assistedsystem, a semi-autonomous vehicle, a vehicle capable of vehicle tovehicle communication, a vehicle incapable of vehicle to vehiclecommunication, a taxi, or a rental car.

Further, in instances when the first vehicle 106 and/or the secondvehicle 108 do not communicate the sensor data to the communicationdevice 102, the processor 302 may be configured to utilize one or moresensors of the sensing device 306 to capture data associated with thefirst vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. For example, a speedsensor, such as the RADAR speed gun, may be utilized to detect the speedof the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. An image sensormay be utilized to capture an FOV of the first portion and/or the secondportion to detect a direction of travel, type, and size of the firstvehicle 106, and/or the second vehicle 108. The FOV may correspond toone or more images or a video. In another example, two image sensors maybe pre-installed at two different locations along the second portion.The two image sensors may be separated by a pre-determined distance. Thetwo image sensors may capture one or more images at different timeinstances to deduce the speed of the second vehicle 108 by use of imageprocessing techniques known in the art.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured todetect one or more road surface characteristics on the first portionand/or the second portion of the path. The road surface characteristicsmay comprise an upward slope, a downward slope, a bank angle, acurvature, a boundary, a road texture, a pothole, a lane marking, and/ora width of the second portion of the path. Such one or more road surfacecharacteristics may be detected by use of the one or more sensors of thesensing device 306.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured todetect one or more road hazards on the first portion and/or the secondportion of the path. The one or more road hazards may comprise anobstacle, an animal, and/or a landslide. The obstacle may be a staticobstacle, such as a heap of construction material, and/or a movingobstacle, such as a human subject. Such detection of one or more roadhazards may occur by use of the one or more sensors of the sensingdevice 306. For example, the FOV captured by the image sensor of thesensing device 306 may be processed to detect the second vehicle 108,which may be present on the second portion of the path. In instances,when the processor 302 detects the second vehicle 108 along the secondportion of the path, the processor 302 further communicates data relatedto the second vehicle 108 to the ECU 104 of the first vehicle 106.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured tocommunicate data associated with the second portion of the path to thefirst vehicle 106. In accordance with an embodiment, the communicateddata associated with the second portion of the path comprises the roadsurface characteristics of the path and one or more road hazards alongthe path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured toupdate the data associated with the second portion of the pathcommunicated to the first vehicle 106. For example, the processor 302may be configured to continuously communicate an update of the positionof the second vehicle 108 on the second portion of the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured tocommunicate data associated with the first portion of the path to thesecond vehicle 108. In accordance with an embodiment, such communicationmay occur when the second vehicle 108 comprises an ECU configuredsimilar to that of the ECU 104.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured tocommunicate a warning signal to one or both of the first vehicle 106 andthe second vehicle 108. Such communication of the warning signal mayoccur when one or both of the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle108 are detected in a wrong lane of the path. In accordance with anembodiment, the processor 302 may be configured to communicate trafficinformation along the path to one or both of the first vehicle 106 andthe second vehicle 108. In accordance with an embodiment, the processor302 may be configured to simultaneously communicate a warning signal toboth of the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108. Such a warningsignal may be communicated when both of the first vehicle 106 and thesecond vehicle 108 are detected to approach each other along a same laneof the path.

In accordance with an embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured toexecute control to set validity of the communicated first uniqueidentifier as expired when the first vehicle 106 reaches (or passes) thesecond location along the second portion of the path. In accordance withan embodiment, the processor 302 may be configured to terminate theestablished communication channel between the first vehicle 106 and thecommunication device 102 based on the expiry of the validity of thefirst unique identifier. Similarly, the processor 302 may be configuredto terminate the established communication channel between the secondvehicle 108 and the communication device 102. Such termination may occurwhen the second vehicle 108 reaches (or passes) the first location alongthe first portion of the path. Such termination may be based on theexpiry of the validity of the second unique identifier.

FIGS. 4A to 4H illustrate a first exemplary scenario for theimplementation of the disclosed system and method for driving assistancealong a path, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIGS.4A to 4H are explained in conjunction with elements from FIG. 1, FIG. 2,and FIG. 3. With reference to FIG. 4A, there is shown a cut section 402of an interior portion of the first vehicle 106, a windshield 404, anAR-HUD 406, a first portion 408 of a path 410, a first lane 412, asecond lane 414, and a mountain area 416 of a mountain.

In accordance with the first exemplary scenario, the AR-HUD 406 maycorrespond to the display 210 (FIG. 2). The first vehicle 106 may movetowards a first location along the first portion 408 of the path 410. Aview of the outside, such as the first portion 408 of the path 410 andthe mountain area 416 may be visible through the AR-HUD 406 from theinterior portion of the first vehicle 106. The AR-HUD 406 may be atransparent display. The AR-HUD 406 may be integrated with thewindshield 404 for a hands-free and unobtrusive display for occupant(s)of the first vehicle 106. A second portion 418 (shown in FIG. 4B) of thepath 410, may be hidden from the mountain area 416 of the mountain. Thesecond portion 418 may not be visible from the first location in adirect line of sight.

With reference to FIG. 4A, a user, such as the driver 112, at a firstlocation of the first portion 408, may want to see the second portion418 of the path 410. The driver 112 may want to see if road hazards arepresent in the second portion 418 of the path 410. The driver 112 mayfurther want to know the type, size, and/or position of road hazards inreal time to drive safely along the path 410. It may be beneficial forthe driver 112 to be aware of the road surface characteristics of thesecond portion 418, such as a bank angle, slope conditions, and/orinformation related to curvature.

In operation, the first vehicle 106 may move past the first locationalong the first portion 408 of the path 410, via the first lane 412.Now, FIG. 4B is explained to depict the sequence of operations. FIG. 4Bshows a plan view of the scenario depicted in FIG. 4A.

With reference to FIG. 4B, there is shown the first vehicle 106, thesecond vehicle 108, the first portion 408, the path 410, the first lane412, the second lane 414, the second portion 418, a first location 420,a second location 422, a first communication device 424, a secondcommunication device 426, a third communication device 428, a fourthcommunication device 430, and a central communication device 432. Thereis further shown a first ECU 434 installed in the first vehicle 106, asecond ECU 436 installed in the second vehicle 108, and a pothole 438 inthe second portion 418 of the path 410.

In accordance with the first exemplary scenario, the centralcommunication device 432 may correspond to the communication device 102.The first communication device 424, the second communication device 426,the third communication device 428, and the fourth communication device430 may correspond to the one or more other communication devices, suchas the RFID device. The first ECU 434 may correspond to the ECU 104. Thesecond ECU 436 may correspond to an ECU with configurations andfunctionalities similar to that of the ECU 104.

In operation, the first communication device 424 may be configured todetermine whether the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) thefirst location 420 along the first portion 408 of the path 410 by use awireless communication or sensing devices, such as the RFID device, anultrasonic sensor, and/or an imaging device. The first communicationdevice 424 may be configured to communicate the first unique identifierto the first vehicle 106 when the first vehicle 106 passes the firstlocation 420.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured toreceive the first unique identifier from the first communication device424 when the first vehicle 106 has passed the first location 420. Thefirst ECU 434 may be configured to communicate the first uniqueidentifier to the central communication device 432. In instances wherethe central communication device 432 communicates the first uniqueidentifier to the first vehicle 106, further communication of the firstunique identifier between the first ECU 434 and the centralcommunication device 432 may not be required.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured toestablish a communication channel between the first vehicle 106 and thecentral communication device 432, based on the received first uniqueidentifier. Similarly, the second ECU 436 may be configured to receivethe second unique identifier from the third communication device 428situated at the second location 422. Such communication may occur whenthe second vehicle 108 has passed the second location 422. The secondECU 436 may be configured to communicate the second unique identifier tothe central communication device 432.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured toreceive data associated with the second portion 418 of the path 410 fromthe central communication device 432. The received data associated withthe second portion 418 of the path comprises road surfacecharacteristics of the path 410, such as the pothole 438, and one ormore road hazards along the path 410.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured togenerate alert information associated with the second portion 418 of thepath 410 based on the received data. For example, the first ECU 434 maybe configured to generate the alert information when a current speed ofthe second vehicle 108 received from the central communication device432 is higher than a pre-specified threshold speed. Based on informationacquired from the first vehicle 106, when the central communicationdevice 432 detects the first vehicle 106 in the second lane 414, and adirection of travel of the first vehicle 106 is detected towards thesecond location 422, the central communication device 432 may beconfigured to communicate a warning signal, such as “wrong lane”, to thefirst vehicle 106. In accordance with an embodiment, the warning signalmay be communicated to both the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle108 when both of the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108 aredetected along the same lane, such as the second lane 414 of the path410.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured toupdate the generated alert information that corresponds to a position ofthe second vehicle 108 on the second portion 418 of the path 410. Suchan update at the first vehicle 106 may occur based on the data receivedfrom the communication device 102.

FIG. 4C shows the generated alert information associated with the secondportion 418 of the path 410 as a graphical view displayed on the display210, such as the AR-HUD 406, of the first vehicle 106. With reference toFIG. 4C, there is shown a combined view 440 of the first portion 408 andthe generated alert information associated with the second portion 418of the path 410.

In accordance with an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured tocontrol display of the combined view 440 of the first portion 408 andthe generated alert information associated with the second portion 418of the path 410. The first ECU 434 may be configured to control displayof the combined view 440 such that the first portion 408 and generatedsecond portion 418 a is rendered as a continuous stretch of the path 410on the AR-HUD 406 of the first vehicle 106. The generated alertinformation includes information with regard to a representative icon108 a of the second vehicle 108, such as type, size, and position alongthe generated second portion 418 a of the path 410. The generated alertinformation may further include indications of one or more road hazardsand road surface characteristics, such as an indication 438 a for thepothole 438 on the second portion 418 of the path 410. In accordancewith an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured to controldisplay of the combined view 440 such that the generated alertinformation is overlaid on a part of the first portion 408 (as shown inFIG. 4D).

FIG. 4D shows the generated alert information displayed on the display210, such as the AR-HUD 406, of the first vehicle 106, in accordancewith an embodiment. With reference to FIG. 4D, there is shown severalindications with respect to the second portion 418 of the path 410. Theindications may include a driving route 410 a where the first vehicle106 drives, a representative icon 106 a of the first vehicle 106 whichshows a position of the first vehicle 106 on the driving route 410 a, anindication 438 b of the pothole 438 which shows a position of thepothole 438 on the driving route 410 a, and another representative icon108 b of the second vehicle 108 according to vehicle type, such as acar, size, and position of the second vehicle 108. Such indicationscorrespond to the one or more features that may be updated based on thedata received from the central communication device 432. There isfurther shown a graphical bar 410 b that indicates a distance from thefirst vehicle 106 to the second vehicle 108. A volume, as shown by adark shaded portion, of the graphical bar 410 b decreases when thesecond vehicle 108 comes near to the first vehicle 106. In instanceswhen a plurality of oncoming vehicles exist along the second portion418, the graphical bar 410 b shows the distance for an oncoming vehiclethat is nearest to the first vehicle 106. For example, a predeterminedminimum set of sensor data is already defined for communication betweenvehicles and central communication device 432. At a certain moment, suchas when the first vehicle 106 approaches a blind curve near the mountainarea 416 of the mountain (FIG. 4D), the first ECU 434 receives aninformation of the second vehicle 108 from the central communicationdevice 432. The information includes a geographical position (such aslongitude 35° 43′ and latitude 135° 26′), speed (such as 40 mile perhour (MPH)), a driving direction (such as northeast direction), and/orsize or type of the second vehicle 108 (such as sports utility vehicle(SUV).

The first ECU 434 may further receive information that corresponds towhether or not the second vehicle 108 (represented as 108 b at the UI210 a) is approaching towards the first vehicle 106 and has passed thethird communication device 428. For instance, the received informationmay include a data field, such as “Is the <second vehicle 108>approaching towards the first vehicle 106”, for which correspondingvalue may be “Yes”. The value “Yes” received for the above data fieldmay denote that the second vehicle 108 (represented as 108 b at the UI210 a) is approaching towards the first vehicle 106 and has passed thethird communication device 428. The first ECU 434 may determine a levelof alert based on the received information of the second vehicle 108.The distance between the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108may be calculated based on the received geographical position of thesecond vehicle 108 and a current geographical position of the firstvehicle 106. For example, a calculated distance between the firstvehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108 is less than predeterminedthreshold, such as “50 meters”. This may indicate that a high risk alertmay be required to be generated and displayed at the AR-HUD 406, and acolor of the graphical bar 410 b is to be turned to red from previouslygreen. The color is green when the calculated distance between the firstvehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108 is more than the predeterminedthreshold.

In an instance, when the sensing system 218 of the first vehicle 106,such as the imaging device, does not detect the second vehicle 108, itmay be assumed that the driver 112 of the first vehicle 106 cannotvisually identify the second vehicle 108. In another instance, when thesensing system 218 of the first vehicle 106, such as the imaging device,does not detect the second vehicle 108, a calculated distance to thesecond vehicle 108 is less than the predetermined threshold, such as “50meters”, and/or a received speed of the second vehicle 108 is more thananother predetermined speed threshold, such as “80 MPH”, a color of theother representative icon 108 b of the second vehicle 108 turns red incolor or an audio alert is issued to notify a high risk alert to thedriver 112 of the first vehicle 106.

With reference to FIG. 4E, there is shown a truck 450, a pedestrian 452,a camera 454, which may be associated with the central communicationdevice 432, on the second portion 418, of the path 410. The truck 450may not have an ECU with configurations and functionalities similar tothat of the ECU 104. The camera 454 may correspond to the one or moresensors of the sensing device 306. The truck 450 and the pedestrian 452may move towards the second location 422 along the second portion 418 ofthe path 410.

In operation, the central communication device 432 may be configured todetect one or more other potential road hazards, such as the truck 450and the pedestrian 452, on the second portion 418. Such detection mayoccur when the truck passes the second location 422 along the secondportion 418 of the path 410. The central communication device 432 maydetermine the vehicle type, size, and position of the truck 450 by useof the camera 454. One or more other sensors, such as the RADAR speedgun (not shown), may be associated with the central communication device432. Such one or more other sensors may detect the speed and position ofthe truck 450 on the second portion 418 of the path 410.

In accordance with an embodiment, the central communication device 432may be configured to communicate an update to the first vehicle 106. Theupdate may correspond to the detected one or more other road hazards.The first ECU 434 may be configured to dynamically update the generatedalert information based on the received update.

FIG. 4F shows a graphical view of an update of the generated alertinformation associated with the second portion 418 of the path 410. Withreference to FIG. 4F, there is shown an indication 450 a of the truck450 and an indication 452 a of the pedestrian 452 in the combined view440. In this case, the first ECU 434 determines a high risk because acurvature of an oncoming curving road, received from centralcommunication device 432 as one of the road surface characteristics, islarger than a threshold angle, and the oncoming second vehicle 108 maybe the truck 450. To notify this high risk situation to the driver ofthe first vehicle 106, the indication 450 a of the truck 450 may behighlighted by red color or an audio alert may be issued. In accordancewith an embodiment, the first ECU 434 may be configured to controldisplay of the updated second portion 418 in the combined view 440, suchthat the generated alert information is overlaid on a part of the firstportion 408 (as shown in FIG. 4G).

With reference to FIG. 4G, there is shown an indication 450 b of thetruck 450 and an indication 452 b of the pedestrian 452. The first ECU434 may be configured to control display to update one or more otherfeatures in the combined view 440, such as the indication 450 b of thetruck 450 and the indication 452 b of the pedestrian 452.

In accordance with an embodiment, the combined view 440 may comprise anindication of current speed of the second vehicle 108 and an indicationof current distance to pass the second vehicle 108. The combined view440 may further comprise an indication of a change in speed of the firstvehicle 106 that is required to pass the second portion 418 of the path410. Thus, such operations and indications may provide enhancedvisualization and driving assistance at the first vehicle 106 and/or atthe second vehicle 108.

FIG. 4H shows a view the generated alert information displayed on thedisplay 210, such as the AR-HUD 406, of the first vehicle 106, inaccordance with an alternative embodiment. FIG. 4H depicts a scenariowhere there may be a plurality of oncoming vehicles, such as 5 oncomingvehicles, at the driving route 410 a that may approach the first vehicle106. The plurality of oncoming vehicles may correspond to the secondvehicle 108 (FIG. 1). The driving route 410 a displays the path 410(including the hidden second portion 418) along which the first vehicle106 drives to pass the mountain area 416 of the mountain towards thesecond portion 418 of the path 410.

With reference to FIG. 4H, the five oncoming vehicles may be representedas graphical icons 460, 462, 464, 466, and 468 that indicate currentposition of the five oncoming vehicles on the driving route 410 a and arange of vision of the driver 112 may is shown by two dashed lines 470 aand 470 b. For the sake of brevity, there is shown a legend 458 todepict different symbols used in the vicinity of the graphical icons460, 462, 464, 466, and 468. The symbols or indications include a humandriver symbol 472, a communication symbol 474, a missing informationsymbol 476, an autonomous mode symbol 478, and an error symbol 480.

The human driver symbol 472 indicates that a vehicle is operated by ahuman driver, and the vehicle is not in autonomous mode. Thecommunication symbol 474 indicates that a vehicle has a capability ofestablishing communication with a communicative device, such as thecentral communication device 432. The missing information symbol 476(such as a question mark “?”) indicates that the first vehicle 106cannot receive the sensor data of a vehicle, such as the third oncomingvehicle (represented by the third graphical icon 464). The autonomousmode symbol 478 indicates that a vehicle, such as the fourth vehicle(represented by the fourth graphical icon 466), is an autonomous vehicleor currently operating in an autonomous mode. The error symbol 480indicates that there are one or more errors in the sensor data receivedfrom a vehicle, such as the fifth oncoming vehicle (represented by thefifth graphical icon 468).

The range of vision of the driver 112 of the first vehicle 106 may befrom the interior of the first vehicle 106. The range of vision of thedriver 112 that is represented by the two dashed lines 470 a and 470 bmay be displayed based on the sensor data, such as current geographicposition, of the first vehicle 106 and characteristics of the drivingroute 410 a, and a visibility interference or a part visibility blockagedue to the mountain area 416.

A first oncoming vehicle, as represented by the first graphical icon460, may be in the first portion 408 of the path 410, and may be in therange of vision of the driver 112. The human driver symbol 472 and thecommunication symbol 474 is also rendered in the vicinity of the firstgraphical icon 460 of first oncoming vehicle. The communication symbol474 further indicates that the first vehicle 106 (shown as therepresentative icon 106 a on the driving route 410 a) has alreadyreceived sensor data of the first oncoming vehicle (shown as the firstgraphical icon 460 on the driving route 410 a). The human driver symbol472 and a communication symbol 474 may be displayed based on thereceived sensor data from the first oncoming vehicle.

The second oncoming vehicle (one of the plurality of the oncomingvehicles) that is represented by the second graphical icon 462, maycommunicate with the central communication device 432. The first vehicle106 may receive sensor information of the second oncoming vehicle fromthe central communication device 432.

The third oncoming vehicle (one of the plurality of the oncomingvehicles) that is represented by the third graphical icon 464 on thedriving route 410 a, may not have a communication device or an ECUsimilar to that of the wireless communication system 206 or the ECU 104(FIG. 2) to establish a communication with the central communicationdevice 432. In such an instance, the central communication device 432may detect the third oncoming vehicle by acquiring information fromanother device, such as the camera 454, which captures objects on thepath 410. For example, the central communication device 432 may acquireinformation of an existence or vehicle type of a vehicle, such as thethird oncoming vehicle, and a geographical location of the vehicle, suchas the third oncoming vehicle, from the camera 454. The centralcommunication device 432 may then provide the acquired information of anexistence, the vehicle type, and a geographical location of the vehicle,such as the third oncoming vehicle in this case which cannot communicatewith the central communication device 432, to the first vehicle 106.

In accordance with an embodiment, based on the received information fromthe central communication device 432, the first ECU 434 of the firstvehicle 106 may determine the existence, the vehicle type (such as ahatchback car), and the geographical location of a vehicle, such as thethird oncoming vehicle, hidden behind the mountain area 416. However, asother sensor data of the third oncoming vehicle (represented by thethird graphical icon 464) is not received, and as the driver 112 may notunderstand a current situation of the third oncoming vehicle, the firstECU 434 may highlight the third graphical icon 464 of the third oncomingvehicle by a change in color or a size of the third graphical icon 464.The missing information symbol 476 that indicates the first vehicle 106cannot receive the sensor data of the third oncoming vehicle, may berendered on the AR-HUD 406 or the display 210 of the first vehicle 106.A voice alert that indicates the driver 112 needs to be cautious for thethird oncoming vehicle may be generated via the audio interface 208.

In accordance with an embodiment, a plurality of cameras or sensors maybe installed along a roadside, such as the path 410. The plurality ofcameras may be communicatively coupled to the central communicationdevice 432. In this case, when the third oncoming vehicle passes thefirst camera, such as the camera 454, the camera 454 may capture animage of the third oncoming vehicle, and record the timestamp ofcapture, such as a first timestamp. The camera 454 may communicate thecaptured image comprising at least the third oncoming vehicle withrecorded first timestamp to the central communication device 432.Similarly, another camera installed at a predetermined distance, maycapture another image of a vehicle in motion, such as the third oncomingvehicle and record the timestamp of capture, such as a second timestamp.The other camera may communicate the captured other image comprising atleast the third oncoming vehicle with recorded second timestamp to thecentral communication device 432. Thus, the central communication device432 may calculate the speed of the third oncoming vehicle based on thetime taken to travel the predetermined distance. The time taken may beeasily calculated based on an elapsed time difference between the secondtimestamp and the first timestamp. Thus, by use of this calculated speedof the third oncoming vehicle, the central communication device 432 maycommunicate the speed information to the first vehicle 106. In such aninstance, the missing information symbol 476 may not be displayed oranother icon (not shown) may be displayed in the vicinity of the thirdgraphical icon 464.

The fourth oncoming vehicle (one of the plurality of the oncomingvehicles) that is represented by the fourth graphical icon 466 on thedriving route 410 a, may communicate with the central communicationdevice 432. The first ECU 434 of the first vehicle 106 receives thesensor data of the fourth oncoming vehicle from the centralcommunication device 432 and determines that the fourth oncoming vehicleis an autonomous vehicle or currently operating in an autonomous mode.The autonomous mode symbol 478 and the communication symbol 474 may berendered at the AR-HUD 406 or the display 210 of the first vehicle 106.

The fifth oncoming vehicle (one of the plurality of the oncomingvehicles) that is represented by the fifth graphical icon 468 on thedriving route 410 a, may also communicate with the central communicationdevice 432 or may directly communicate with the first vehicle 106 in avehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. With regards to the fifthoncoming vehicle, the human driver symbol 472, the communication symbol474, and an error symbol 480 may be rendered based on the sensor datafrom the fifth oncoming vehicle in a V2V communication. The error symbol480 indicates that there are one or more errors in the sensor datareceived from the fifth oncoming vehicle (represented by the fifthgraphical icon 468). The error symbol 480 may be an error flag. Forexample, if an image sensor of an advanced driving assisted system(ADAS) of the fifth oncoming vehicle is defective, an ECU of the fifthoncoming vehicle may send an error flag for its sensing capability tothe central communication device 432. In this case, the first ECU 434 ofthe first vehicle 106 may identify the error flag in the sensor data ofthe fifth oncoming vehicle, and render the error symbol 480 near thefifth graphical icon 468 of the fifth oncoming vehicle. Thus, the driver112 may easily understand a need to be careful with regard to the fifthoncoming vehicle for safety purpose.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary scenario for implementation of thedisclosed system and method for driving assistance, in accordance withan embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 5 is explained in conjunction withelements from FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. With reference to FIG. 5,there is shown a first car 502, a second car 504, an RSU 506, a firstportion 508, a second portion 510, a first location 512, a secondlocation 514, and a path 516.

In accordance with the second exemplary scenario, the first car 502 andthe second car 504 may correspond to the first vehicle 106 and thesecond vehicle 108, respectively. The RSU 506 may correspond to thecommunication device 102. The first car 502 may pass the first location512, along the first portion 508 of the path 516. The second car 504 maypass the second location 514, along the second portion 510 of the path516. The second portion 510 of the path 516 may not be visible from thefirst location 512, due to an uphill road condition. Similarly, thefirst portion 508 of the path 516 may not be visible from the secondlocation 514. The path 516 may be a single lane road.

In operation, the RSU 506 may be configured to communicate a firstunique identifier to the first car 502 when the first car 502 has passedthe first location 512. Similarly, the RSU 506 may be configured tocommunicate a second unique identifier to the second car 504, when thesecond car 504 has passed the second location 514.

In accordance with an embodiment, the RSU 506 may be configured toestablish communication channels with one or both of the first car 502and the second car 504. The RSU 506 may be configured to communicatedata associated with the second portion 510 of the path 516 to the firstcar 502. Similarly, the RSU 506 may communicate data associated with thefirst portion 508 of the path 516 to the second car 504. Thecommunicated data may include one or more road surface characteristicson the first portion 508 and/or the second portion 510 of the path 516.The road surface characteristics may correspond to the downward slope,boundary, road texture, and/or width of the first portion 508 and thesecond portion 510 of the path 516.

In accordance with an embodiment, alert information may be generated atthe first car 502 and/or the second car 504, based on the data receivedfrom the RSU 506. One or more circuits in the ECU 104 of the first car502 may be configured to generate the alert information when a currentspeed of the first car 502 is detected as higher than a pre-specifiedthreshold speed. In accordance with an embodiment, one or more circuitsin the ECU 104 of the first car 502 may be configured to determine asafe speed required to traverse the downward slope along the secondportion 510 of the path 516. Such determination of the safe speed may bedynamically updated based on the current position of the first car 502or the oncoming second car 504.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart that illustrates an exemplary method fordriving assistance along a path, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. With reference to FIG. 6, there is shown a flow chart 600.The flow chart 600 is described in conjunction with FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and4A to 4G. The method starts at step 602 and proceeds to step 604.

At step 604, a unique identifier may be received when a first vehicle106 has reached (or passed) a first location, such as the first location420 (FIG. 4B), along a first portion, such as the first portion 408, ofa path (such as the path 410). Such a unique identifier may be receivedfrom the communication device 102. In accordance with an embodiment, theunique identifier may be received from another communication devicesituated at the first location, such as the first communication device424. At step 606, a communication channel may be established between thefirst vehicle 106 and the communication device 102, based on thereceived unique identifier. For example, the communication device 102accepts a communication with a vehicle if the vehicle transmits anauthorized unique identifier. At step 608, sensor data may becommunicated to the communication device 102. The sensor data may beassociated with the first vehicle 106. At step 610, data associated witha second portion, such as the second portion 418, of the path 410 may bereceived from the communication device 102.

At step 612, alert information associated with the second portion of thepath may be generated based on the received data. At step 614, thegenerated alert information that may correspond to a position of thesecond vehicle 108, on the second portion of path, may be updated. Suchan update may occur based on the data received from the communicationdevice 102. At step 616, display of a combined view of the first portionand the generated alert information associated with the second portionof the path may be controlled. The display may occur by use of the UI210 a (FIG. 2). Further, FIGS. 4C, 4D, 4F, 4G and 4H are examples of theresult of the step 616. Control passes to end step 618.

In above examples, the AR-HUD 406 is used to display road hazards orroad surface characteristics. However, all of information illustrated byFIGS. 4C, 4D, 4F, 4G, and 4H can be displayed on the display 210 of thefirst vehicle 106. For example, if a brightness level of outside vehicleenvironment is low, displayed content on the AR-HUD 406 may affectoutside visibility from the point of view of the driver 112. Therefore,the displayed content on the AR-HUD 406 may be switched to be displayedon the display 210 when the outside brightness level is lower than avisibility threshold. A time of day, such as night time, or an event ofturning “ON” a head light at the first vehicle 106 or the second vehicle108, may be considered for the switching of the displayed content fromthe AR-HUD 406 to the display 210.

FIG. 7 depicts another flow chart that illustrates another exemplarymethod for driving assistance along a path, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. With reference to FIG. 7, there is shown aflow chart 700. The flow chart 700 is described in conjunction withFIGS. 1, 3, and 5. The method starts at step 702 and proceeds to step704.

At step 704, whether the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) afirst location (such as the first location 512) along a first portion(such as the first portion 508) of a path (such as the path 516), may bedetermined at the communication device 102 (an example of thecommunication device 102 is the RSU 506 (FIG. 5)). It may be furtherdetermined whether the second vehicle 108 has reached (or passed) asecond location (such as the second location 514) along a second portion(such as the second portion 510) of the path. In instances when thefirst vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) the first location along thefirst portion of the path, control passes to step 706. In instances whenthe second vehicle 108 has reached (or passed) the second location alongthe second portion of the path, control passes to step 712.

At step 706, a first unique identifier may be communicated to the firstvehicle 106 to establish a communication channel between the firstvehicle 106 and the communication device 102. Such communication of thefirst unique identifier may occur when the first vehicle 106 reaches (orpasses) the first location along the first portion of the path. At step708, sensor data from the first vehicle 106 that may be present on thefirst portion of the path, may be received at the communication device102.

At step 710, data associated with the second portion of the path may becommunicated from the communication device 102 to the first vehicle 106.At step 712, a second unique identifier may be communicated to thesecond vehicle to establish a communication channel between the secondvehicle 108 and the communication device 102. Such communication of thesecond unique identifier may occur when the second vehicle 108 reaches(or passes) the second location along the second portion of the path.

At step 714, sensor data from the second vehicle present on the secondportion of the path, may be received at the communication device 102. Atstep 716, data associated with the first portion of the path may becommunicated from the communication device 102 to the second vehicle108. At step 718, a warning signal may be communicated to one or both ofthe first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108. For example, incase that the communication device 102 (or the RSU 506) identifies anerror in the sensor data of one of the vehicles on the path, a breakdownof one of the vehicles and/or a vehicle incapable of communicating withthe communication device 102, the warning signal may be communicated toother vehicles on the path. Such communication may occur when one orboth of the first vehicle 106 and/or the second vehicle 108 are detectedalong an opposing traffic lane of the path.

At step 720, traffic information along the path may be communicated toone or both of the first vehicle 106 and the second vehicle 108. Ininstances when the first vehicle 106 (that comes from the firstlocation) has reached (or passed) the second location along the secondportion, control passes to step 722. In instances when the secondvehicle 108 (that comes from the second location) has reached (orpassed) the first location along the first portion, control passes tostep 726.

At step 722, validity of the first unique identifier may be set asexpired when the first vehicle 106 has reached (or passed) the secondlocation along the second portion of the path. At step 724, theestablished communication channel between the first vehicle 106 and thecommunication device 102 may be terminated based on the expiry of thevalidity of the first unique identifier. Control passes to end step 730with respect to the first vehicle 106.

At step 726, validity of the second unique identifier may be set asexpired when the second vehicle 108 has reached (or passed) the firstlocation along the first portion of the path. At step 728, theestablished communication channel between the second vehicle 108 and thecommunication device 102 may be terminated based on the expiry of thevalidity of the second unique identifier. Control passes to end step 730with respect to the second vehicle 108.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a system for drivingassistance along a path is disclosed. The system (such as the ECU 104(FIG. 1) may comprise one or more circuits (hereinafter referred to asthe microprocessor 202 (FIG. 2). The microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to receive a unique identifier from the communication device102 (FIG. 1) when the first vehicle 106 has reached a first locationalong a first portion of a path. The microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to establish a communication channel between the firstvehicle 106 and the communication device 102 based on the receivedunique identifier. The microprocessor 202 may be configured to receivedata associated with a second portion of the path from the communicationdevice 102. The microprocessor 202 may be further configured to generatealert information associated with the second portion of the path basedon the received data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a system for drivingassistance along a path is disclosed. The system (such as thecommunication device 102 (FIG. 1) may comprise one or more circuits(hereinafter referred to as the processor 302 (FIG. 3). The processor302 may be configured to determine whether the first vehicle 106(FIG. 1) has reached a first location along a first portion of a path.The processor 302 may be configured to communicate a first uniqueidentifier to the first vehicle 106 to establish a communication channelbetween the first vehicle 106 and the communication device 102. Suchcommunication may occur when the first vehicle 106 reaches the firstlocation along the first portion of the path. The processor 302 may befurther configured to communicate data associated with a second portionof the path to the first vehicle 106.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a vehicle forproviding driving assistance along a path is disclosed. The vehicle,such as the first vehicle 106 (FIG. 2) may comprise the battery 224 andthe display 210. The vehicle may further comprise an electronic controlunit (such as the ECU 104 (FIG. 2) that may be powered by the battery224. The electronic control unit may comprise one or more circuits(hereinafter referred to as the microprocessor 202 (FIG. 2) that areconfigured to receive a unique identifier from the communication device102 (FIG. 1) when the vehicle has reached a first location along a firstportion of a path. The microprocessor 202 may be configured to establisha communication channel between the vehicle and the communication device102 based on the received unique identifier. The microprocessor 202 maybe configured to receive data associated with a second portion of thepath from the communication device 102. The microprocessor 202 may beconfigured to generate alert information associated with the secondportion of the path based on the received data. The microprocessor 202may be configured to display the generated alert information on thedisplay 210.

Various embodiments of the disclosure may provide a non-transitorycomputer readable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitorymachine readable medium and/or storage medium having stored thereon, aset of computer-executable instructions for causing a machine and/or acomputer to provide driving assistance along a path. The set ofcomputer-executable instructions in an ECU may cause the machine and/orcomputer to perform the steps that comprise receipt of a uniqueidentifier at the ECU 104 of the first vehicle 106 from thecommunication device 102. Such receipt may occur when the first vehicle106 has reached a first location along a first portion of a path. Acommunication channel may be established by the ECU 104 between thefirst vehicle 106 and the communication device 102. Such a communicationchannel may be established based on the received unique identifier. Dataassociated with a second portion of the path may be received by the ECU104 from the communication device 102. Alert information associated withthe second portion of the path may be generated by the ECU 104 based onthe received data.

Various embodiments of the disclosure may provide a non-transitorymachine/computer readable medium and/or storage medium having storedthereon, a set of computer-executable instructions for causing a machineand/or a computer to provide driving assistance along a path. The set ofcomputer-executable instructions in a communication device (such as thecommunication device 102) may cause the machine and/or computer toperform the steps that comprise a determination, by the communicationdevice 102, whether the first vehicle 106 has reached a first locationalong a first portion of a path. A first unique identifier may becommunicated to the first vehicle 106 to establish a communicationchannel between the first vehicle 106 and the communication device 102.Such communication may occur when the first vehicle 106 has reached afirst location along a first portion of a path. Data associated with asecond portion of the path may be communicated to the first vehicle 106.

The present disclosure may be realized in hardware, or a combination ofhardware and software. The present disclosure may be realized in acentralized fashion, in at least one computer system, or in adistributed fashion, where different elements may be spread acrossseveral interconnected computer systems. A computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein may besuited. A combination of hardware and software may be a general-purposecomputer system with a computer program that, when loaded and executed,may control the computer system such that it carries out the methodsdescribed herein. The present disclosure may be realized in hardwarethat comprises a portion of an integrated circuit that also performsother functions.

The present disclosure may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program, in the presentcontext, means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directly,or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition,many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation ormaterial to the teachings of the present disclosure without departingfrom its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosurenot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that thepresent disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A driving assistance system comprising: one ormore circuits in an electronic control unit used in a first vehicle,said one or more circuits being configured to: receive a uniqueidentifier from a communication device when said first vehicle reaches afirst location along a first portion of a path; establish acommunication channel between said first vehicle and said communicationdevice based on said received unique identifier; receive data associatedwith a second portion of said path from said communication device; andgenerate alert information associated with said second portion of saidpath based on said received data.
 2. The driving assistance systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said one or more circuits are configuredto communicate sensor data to said communication device.
 3. The drivingassistance system according to claim 2, wherein said communicated sensordata comprises one or more of: a direction of travel, lane informationin which said first vehicle drives, type of said first vehicle, size ofsaid first vehicle, weight of said first vehicle, error information of adevice embedded in said first vehicle, breakdown information of saidfirst vehicle, geospatial position, steering angle, yaw rate, speed,and/or rate of change of speed of said first vehicle.
 4. The drivingassistance system according to claim 1, wherein said received dataassociated with said second portion of said path comprises road surfacecharacteristics of said path and one or more road hazards along saidpath.
 5. The driving assistance system according to claim 4, whereinsaid road surface characteristics comprises one or more of: an upwardslope, a downward slope, a bank angle, a curvature, a boundary, a speedlimit, a road texture, a pothole, a lane marking, and/or a width of saidsecond portion of said path.
 6. The driving assistance system accordingto claim 4, wherein said one or more road hazards comprises one or moreof: an obstacle, an animal, a landslide, and/or a second vehicle presenton said second portion of said path.
 7. The driving assistance systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said one or more circuits are configuredto generate said alert information when a current speed of said secondvehicle is higher than a pre-specified threshold speed or said secondvehicle crosses a lane marking along said second portion of said path,wherein said pre-specified threshold speed is determined based one ormore road surface characteristics of said path.
 8. The drivingassistance system according to claim 1, wherein said one or morecircuits are configured to control displaying of a combined view of saidfirst portion and said generated alert information associated with saidsecond portion of said path.
 9. The driving assistance system accordingto claim 8, wherein said combined view comprises one or more featuresbased on said received data from said communication device, wherein saidone or more features comprises one or more of: an indication of a secondvehicle according to vehicle type, size, and position along said secondportion of said path, an indication of current speed of said secondvehicle, an indication of current distance to pass said second vehicle,an indication of a required change in speed of said first vehicle topass said second portion of said path, and/or an indication of one ormore road hazards on said second portion of said path.
 10. The drivingassistance system according to claim 1, wherein said one or morecircuits are configured to receive said data associated with said secondportion of said path from one or more other communication devices.
 11. Adriving assistance system comprising: one or more circuits in acommunication device, said one or more circuits being configured to:determine whether a first vehicle has reached a first location along afirst portion of a path; communicate a first unique identifier to saidfirst vehicle to establish a communication channel between said firstvehicle and said communication device when said first vehicle reachessaid first location along said first portion of said path; andcommunicate data associated with a second portion of said path to saidfirst vehicle.
 12. The driving assistance system according to claim 11,wherein said one or more circuits are configured to communicate a secondunique identifier to a second vehicle to establish a communicationchannel between said second vehicle and said communication device whensaid second vehicle reaches a second location along a second portion ofsaid path.
 13. The driving assistance system according to claim 12,wherein said one or more circuits are configured to communicate dataassociated with said first portion of said path to said second vehicle.14. The driving assistance system according to claim 11, wherein saidone or more circuits are configured to receive sensor data from saidfirst vehicle and/or a second vehicle present on said second portion ofsaid path.
 15. The driving assistance system according to claim 14,wherein said one or more circuits are configured to communicate awarning signal to one or both of said first vehicle and/or said secondvehicle when one or both of said first vehicle and/or said secondvehicle are detected along an opposing traffic lane of said path. 16.The driving assistance system according to claim 11, wherein saidcommunication device is an electronic control unit of a second vehicle,a mobile unit, or a road-side unit.
 17. The driving assistance systemaccording to claim 11, wherein said one or more circuits are configuredto communicate said first unique identifier based on one of: a directionof travel of said first vehicle, lane information of said first vehicle,or a vehicle type of said first vehicle.
 18. The driving assistancesystem according to claim 11, wherein said communicated said firstunique identifier expires when said first vehicle reaches a secondlocation along a second portion of said path.
 19. A method for providingdriving assistance, said method comprising: receiving, at an electroniccontrol unit (ECU) of a first vehicle, a unique identifier from acommunication device when said first vehicle has reached a firstlocation along a first portion of a path; establishing, by said ECU, acommunication channel between said first vehicle and said communicationdevice based on said received unique identifier; receiving, by said ECU,data associated with a second portion of said path from saidcommunication device; and generating, by said ECU, alert informationassociated with said second portion of said path based on said receiveddata.
 20. A method for providing driving assistance, said methodcomprising: determining, by a communication device, whether a firstvehicle has reached a first location along a first portion of a path;communicating, by said communication device, a first unique identifierto said first vehicle to establish a communication channel between saidfirst vehicle and said communication device when said first vehicle hasreached said first location along said first portion of said path; andcommunicating, by said communication device, data associated with asecond portion of said path to said first vehicle.
 21. A non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium having stored thereon, a set ofinstructions executable by a computer, thereby causing the computer toperform steps comprising: receiving, at an electronic control unit (ECU)of a first vehicle, a unique identifier from a communication device whensaid first vehicle has reached a first location along a first portion ofa path; establishing a communication channel between said first vehicleand said communication device based on said received unique identifier;receiving data associated with a second portion of said path from saidcommunication device; and generating alert information associated withsaid second portion of said path based on said received information. 22.A vehicle comprising: a battery; a display; and an electronic controlunit that is powered by said battery, wherein said electronic controlunit comprises one or more circuits that are configured to: receive aunique identifier from a communication device when said vehicle reachesa first location along a first portion of a path; establish acommunication channel between said vehicle and said communication devicebased on said received unique identifier; receive data associated with asecond portion of said path from said communication device; and generatealert information associated with said second portion of said path onsaid display, based on said received data.